Permaculture in Beauvechain

Table of Contents

Les amis du village

Beauvechain, a place where workshops, camps for children and yoga lessons are organized.

A place where people live according to the principles of permaculture, something I knew nothing of up to now.

Last week we were at the Ecovillage Gathering in the far east of Germany, where I learned about things like matriarchy, impact funding, privilege, community and sustainability.

This experience was followed up immediately with our trip to Les amis du village in Beauvechain, just across the Wallonian border.

Day 1 - Arrival

Tram → 1 hour train ride to Leuven → 45 minutes on the TEC-bus → get picked up by Esthel by car. We made it here smoothly!

Writing in a book — Lots of time to reflect on the Ecovillage Gathering experience of last week.

We arrived around 3pm in the afternoon and there was a big pile of clay waiting for us in the courtyard. The big pieces of clay needed to be smashed and chopped and then moved to bath tubs and vats. In the vats, the clay was elongated with water and mixed.

Wall frame — This temporary wall frame will become the container in which to put the insulation material.

Moving clay — Moving full wheelbarrows of clay in the lovely aftermath of the last heat wave.

Day 2 - Permaculture

We started the day with a brief workshop on permaculture.

There are a number of principles to live by, according to 3 pillars: Take care of the earth, take care of people and share your abundance.

The idea is to observe nature as inspiration for our processes. And this makes a lot of sense, because nature is already completely sustainable and ecological as it is!

Horses — The neighbor’s horses also think permaculture is a great idea

One of the principles we’ve explored is diversity. The soil is healthier and better nourished when various species and kinds live on it. A stark contrast of course with our mainstream industrial monocultures.

Another principle is to reduce waste. In many places here there’s not even a trash can because they handle waste so consciously. It’s a whole mindset shift to think from the get-go if the thing you’re purchasing can have another life after it’s been ‘used’!

After the workshop it was time to continue working on our wall insulation. Today we learned to mix the clay with hay ourselves to then fill the temporary wood frame and push the material closely together inside the frame. When dried, this will be a beautiful, warm outside wall.

Hands of clay — They say that it’s good for your skin

Day 3 - Yoga

This place is being hosted by Esthel and Joseph, two incredibly sweet people.

Esthel organizes camps for children where she teaches them not only to become closer to nature but also to love it.
And Joseph is a yoga teacher of Isha yoga, facilitating various different practices and offerings to all.

Upstairs in the barn they intend to manifest a yoga hall! Up there, it’s nice and dry and the place is currently also used for drying herbs. Another principle of permaculture: everything has multiple usages and purposes.

This morning we started at 5:30 am doing yoga together in the hall, just like in India :)

That’s enough written for now, we’ve got a lot of work to do! It’s a soothing and nourishing view on a beautiful way of living.